small_gift811's reviews
569 reviews

Spring, Summer, Asteroid, Bird: The Art of Eastern Storytelling by Henry Lien

adventurous informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

Truly a great aid to anyone who is stepping outside western media to understand a crucial set of differences in eastern and western story telling. My only reason for not giving this ***** is because I wanted more. 

The Language of Trees: A Rewilding of Literature and Landscape by Katie Holten

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

5.0

A beautiful, mysterious book, collecting nuggets of wisdom in all things related to trees. Author created a tree alphabet which is used extensively throughout the book. 

Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, Vol. 2 by singNsong, UMI

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Part 2 of this manhwa series. I had too much time between the first and this book and I only vaguely remembered the story. This is a fast paced read. It’s hard to know how I feel about the narrator. 

Something, Not Nothing: A Story of Grief and Love by Sarah Leavitt

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

A beautiful graphic memoir about the death of the author’s partner of 22 years. Emotionally evocative comic style coupled with heartfelt reflections on grief. Highly recommend. 

All the Honey by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

A far ranging poetry compilation spanning the loss of her son to suicide and the aftermath. Beautiful, heart-inspiring poetry. 

Polar Vortex: A Family Memoir by Denise Dorrance

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

2.75

This book had potential to share about a scary, challenging time - when a child realizes a parent can no longer live on their own, but the parent doesn’t want anything to change. Thousands of daughters have had this experience, so in that way this is a “everywoman” book. I loved the illustration style. That said, I found myself not understanding the author’s decisions. And the fact that she didn’t acknowledge the sister at the end and only focused on herself was disappointing. 

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

This is a formulaic book in both its romance and fantasy elements. The way death is dealt with is superficial and unrealistic. I liked the dragons!

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-joo

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.25

A short, spare book revealing the day to day reality from before birth onwards of misogyny.  The pov was strange. 

The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth by Zoë Schlanger

adventurous challenging funny informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

5.0

This book was such a treat. I learned so much in every chapter. The writing was crisp and the author owned her own interpretations of facts she described. This book makes the world feel like a beautiful mysterious place that we humans barely know. 

You Better Be Lightning by Andrea Gibson

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.75

There are some amazing poems in this collection. I have flagged so many pages!  The first one about goosebumps gave me…goosebumps.