shmandanas's reviews
118 reviews

Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion by Paul Bloom

challenging informative medium-paced

3.0

This book was fine, it was a little more in the philosophical weeds than I initially thought, but it was an interesting idea to explore

The Days of Bluegrass Love by Edward van de Vendel

emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I definitely get what other reviewers say about waiting for the other shoe to drop the whole time. Very much felt like waiting for something that never happened. But, I do always appreciate when teenage-appropriate drama happens to teenagers, and this is exactly what this was. Some gorgeous language, and overall pretty good.

The Art of Asking; or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help by Amanda Palmer

informative medium-paced

4.0

This book was definitely interesting, but not really for the reasons that the author intended. The book is about asking for the things you need which is great, but honestly got pretty boring pretty quick. It was the exact same thing every single time. That being said though, this was a really interesting story about art and the music industry in the aughts, but even more than that this was a really neat perspective on the communications revolution as a whole. So, if you're looking to learn how to ask for things, I personally wouldn't recommend this, but if you want a cool story about technology and art, this is the one.

Oh also as someone who listens to audiobooks at 2x speed, I was not a fan of the musical interludes that happened throughout the book.

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

This was almost unbearable for the first 60% or so. Theo was deeply unlikable, and I really didn't care about his perspective on things. When the plot actually got going, it was pretty interesting and the story was definitely woven together well.

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

This book was not great. It was fun and mysterious at the beginning, but as you learned more everything just felt weak. Sure, everyone had motivations for everything they did, but even though the book explained why people did certain things, it just felt like no one would ever actually behave that way. And then the rules of the magic of the book were also pretty flimsy.

Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity by Charles L. Marohn Jr.

informative slow-paced

5.0

The five stars here does not include writing ability- this book was a bear to get through. That being said, I've been on an urban planning kick recently, and this was highly informative. I listened to it on audiobook, and now I need a physical copy so I can take notes on it. This gave a ton of compelling arguments against modern american cities- ones that I will be using as my town works on updating its zoning code. As noted in some other reviews, there are parts of historic prosperity (i.e. slavery and undervalued labor) that the author doesn't go into at all, but as an introduction this has thoroughly convinced me that the way we're doing cities is wrong.

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This is the first thriller I've read in a long time and it was SO FUN. Made an excellent audiobook and kept me on my toes. I agree with the comments that it's pretty obvious that this book was written by a man, but with that said I still liked it a lot.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

It was pretty average. A nice thing to listen to on a train ride.

Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol by Holly Whitaker

informative medium-paced

4.0

This should be required reading. I'm not a drinker, so I didn't get much out of the second half where she focuses on strategies for quitting other than to be compassionate to people around me who may be, but the beginning gave lots of information and showed alcohol through a lens that I hadn't stopped to think about much.

Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li

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

4.0

I thought this was a lot of fun! Is it believable that some 20 year olds would be recruited for, and be able to pull of any of these heists? No, but it doesn't need to be! It was a very cool lens to explore cultural heritage and coming of age. The writing at times was not my favorite, but I loved the story.