sindri_inn_arsaeli's reviews
1144 reviews

Impeached: The president who almost lost his job by

2.5

Redwall by Brian Jacques

adventurous dark lighthearted tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I finally got around to reading this one that's been on my list since middle school. While the plot did not disappoint, I think I would have preferred to read it myself rather than listen - some of the cast was excellent, (Constance and Warbeak in particular sounded perfectly matched to their characters,) as a whole the cast felt like they were rushing lines sometimes, and the narrator especially seemed to give no reactive space between sentences or thoughts. I think I would have loved this book far more had I read it younger, but I still felt that it was worth the wait!

The Quest for Shakespeare by Joseph Pearce

informative medium-paced

3.0

Interesting historical context, but this felt like reading a college essay stretched out to 200 pages. A significant amount of repetition, overly emotional revulsion of other readings of Shakespeare, (boy does the author HATE post-modernists..), and a lot of writing that makes it seem like the author is both trying to stretch a word count, and trying to sound more profound to impress the audience. He often doubles up on his adjectives for a sentence with two similar enough words that he really should have just picked one. Used sparingly, the technique stresses a single sentence it's used in, but used too much it sounds pretentious. I found three examples in a single two page spread: "Encompass and encapsulate,” "Salient and sapient," "The limit and the summit". An interesting enough topic, but not very grippingly written.

Watership Down by Richard Adams

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

5.0

I already loved the book from the first time I read it in high school, and the story still delights revisited by Peter Capaldi's wonderfully expressive reading

Where the Lost Ones Go by Akemi Dawn Bowman

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

This was good, but also could have been a lot better.
The plot does fit the blurb: young teen dealing with grief looks for ghosts to try to find her grandma or at least get a message to her. But it was sloooow going to actually meet the ghosts. I also found especially the early chapters weirdly dated in writing style, despite the fact that this is a current release.
I was invested in Elliot helping the ghosts move on, and I wanted to see her succeed. But it definitely felt as though some of the characters were left half finished so that the story could exclusively worry about the ghosts once they finally arrived on the scene. Elliot's parents, especially her mother, felt like a characature of a person rather than a real character. Her motives were blunt, poorly supported, and a stretch to explain at points. And I wish that the character of Mrs. Delveaux had been utilized a lot better: there was beautiful set up to see a blossoming friendship with another grandmother, one who felt forgotten by her own family, where she and Elliot could fill the roles they both lost, and then not a lot of attention was really given to that. (It also really bothered me that they treated her name as both her maiden name and her married name... Maybe there was a different name that I missed by listening rather than reading, but that kinda drove me nuts!)

Swing Around the Sun by Barbara Juster Esbensen, Janice Lee Porter

reflective fast-paced

5.0

Beautiful, short, simple collection of nature poetry and illustration. The artists each did an excellent job capturing the aesthetic feel of their season, and I loved the poems. A fantastic example of a collection that doesn't have to be long to be great!

Bright Wings: An Illustrated Anthology of Poems About Birds by Billy Collins

emotional reflective relaxing slow-paced

4.0

A lovely and well built little collection. Picked up at a library discard sale, and while I can see why it was discarded, (not new, not a stand out classic, specific reader appeal only,) I'm quite glad I picked it up! 

The Other Significant Others: Reimagining Life with Friendship at the Center by Rhaina Cohen
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.

I did really want to enjoy this book. But it is mostly anecdotal, which on reflection does make sense for a book of this length, but it just got dull. I wasn't invested in people based on itty bitty snippets of their lives, and the premise of the book, the depth of friendship and level of commitment, could have been summed up in about one chapter. I was interested in the history of cultural norms surrounding different views of friendship, but the modern anecdotes drown out any historical or cultural commentary. I read about a quarter and then skimmed a good amount more, but decided I didn't want to skim that much of a book.

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

funny inspiring lighthearted relaxing 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? No

5.0

This book was recommended to me and so moved up my To Be Read list. I'm so very glad it did! The story was charming, and dealt with it's subjects with such gentleness that it was just a cozy and sweet read. The themes were very serious. The story is at it's core about prejudice and racism and how the children who are already harmed by this are often failed by systems meant to care for them. But I was relieved that the style of writing made it clear that this story would not be about the worst possible outcomes, it was going to show the light that can be found in dark places. 

I will say I wish I had read it instead of listened. The reader used many (I felt oddly chosen) accents but not a single British one for a story that felt so British in setting. Some of the accents were actively off-putting, which was devastating as one of them was the adorable Chauncey. And I honestly abhorred the way he pronounced "ga-zay-bo".

Eight Bears: Mythic Past and Imperiled Future by Gloria Dickie

challenging informative medium-paced

4.25